Last weekend’s suggested treble turned into a nice Easter bonus for those of you who backed it, and we were indebted to the much-travelled Ritchie Foran, whose last minute winner for Inverness Caledonian Thistle brought home the bacon. I’ve selected another potentially lucrative set of matches for you for this coming weekend, but in the meantime, I have been left with just six Premier League fixtures to preview due to the FA Cup semi-finals, but amongst them are a couple of intriguing battles at the bottom of the table which should make for a fascinating Saturday afternoon’s entertainment:

1) Hull v Burnley: You can guarantee that every single Hull fan will be counting on three points here, and on the face of it, there are very few reasons to think there will be an alternative outcome. Burnley used to be poor away and strong at home, but now they just appear poor, out of their depth, without inspiration, and lacking leadership. One point from sixteen away games and no goals scored in their last four visits to Hull, where only Arsenal and Man.United have triumphed since September. Do you reckon a home win might be on the cards?

2) West Ham v Sunderland: It is difficult to know what to make of West Ham’s performance at Everton last weekend. There was definitely an improved attitude and resilience, particularly having gone behind so late in the game, but their defensive frailties were still all too evident, and the suspension of Scott Parker will no doubt prove significant. However, their visitors on Saturday are also providing us with very mixed signals at the moment. From an amateurish display at Anfield the previous week, they progressed to a convincing demolition of Spurs on their return to home territory last Saturday that has all but secured their survival. Their away form remains worrying, though, with no win since the opening day of the season, but as long as Darren Bent remains in such prolific form they have every chance of adding to that solitary success here. Sunderland have lost on their last three visits to Upton Park, but I’m not entirely convinced that a valuable draw at Everton is going to prove a turning point for the Hammers, and they could be heading into the bottom three by five o’clock on Saturday.

3) Wolves v Stoke: Few neutrals would have believed that this fixture taking place in mid-April would be anything other than an ugly relegation scrap, but Stoke are already in the top ten, and Wolves find themselves in the relative comfort of fourteenth spot, even though they still need a few more points to guarantee safety. Mick McCarthy has certainly galvanized his side in recent weeks with some determined performances, even in defeat on Saturday, but they welcome equally effective opponents on Saturday, and for me, a draw would be no surprise, and no real disappointment to either manager.

4) Blackburn v Man.United: Last weekend’s supposed big showdown at Old Trafford turned into a relatively disappointing affair, and it also highlighted a reduced sense of purpose from United’s players without Wayne Rooney to spur them on. So, this is possibly not the ideal time to be visiting Ewood Park, where Blackburn are unbeaten in their last seven matches, and whose recent performances have enabled them to climb well away from the foot of the table over the last few weeks. In fact, United have won just one of their last seven visits to Blackburn in League and Cup, so it has never really been a productive venue for them, and with their last two performances (this is being written prior to Wednesday’s match with Bayern Munich) having proved somewhat of a let-down, I would imagine that the Reds may have to settle for a draw here.

5) Liverpool v Fulham: This should be one of the easier matches to work out this weekend. Despite a thoroughly mediocre season, Liverpool have destroyed a number of sides at Anfield so far this term, and they have also won their last eight at home in all competitions. Prior to last season’s bore draw at Anfield in this fixture, at a time when Liverpool were struggling to break down a number of inferior teams, Fulham were convincingly beaten on their previous four visits to Anfield, and have also lost their last four away in League and Cup, so I’m really struggling to see how this match could end up in anything other than a home win. Come to think of it, if I put money on a home win, that should provide ample opportunity for Fulham to pull off a shock.

6) Man.City v Birmingham: The scoreline from Man.City’s trip to Turf Moor may be a bit misleading in trying to predict the result of this match, as Burnley were really caught cold and in some cases unaware in the opening minutes, and a side with as many threats up front as City could hardly resist sticking the knife in deeper and deeper. Birmingham will pose an altogether different type of threat to their hosts’ pursuit of Champions League football, as they are quite able to frustrate and dig in when necessary, as they have proved on numerous occasion this season. Their record away to Man.City is, however, quite poor, with eight defeats in their last nine visits in League and Cup, and they have also lost five of their last six away Premier League matches, so while I think they may be able to score at Eastlands, a 2-1 or 3-1 defeat may await them on Sunday.

Surprisingly no selections from the lower reaches of Scottish football for you this week, but a successful £10 accumulator on Liverpool, Man.City, Leeds and Spurs would return £35.77 with bet365.com. I hope to have something a bit more exciting for you from next week’s fixtures, but a win is always welcome whichever teams provide it.

Good luck!